PHIL SMITH sounded more mystified than miffed, but there again, you couldn't really blame the redoubtable Heriots coach. As the defending Scottish champions, Smith might have supposed his charges would begin their quest for another title at the same time as all the other clubs in the Premiership. But no. Instead, the Goldenacre side will be tackling Edinburgh neighbours, Boroughmuir, in something called the BT Charity Shield at Murrayfield with an 11.45 kick-off on Saturday. And if you think that sounds perilously close to the rugby equivalent of the football fixture which has become one of sport's biggest irrelevancies, Smith isn't inclined to disagree.

"It does seem to have slipped under the radar, but the boys will be playing on the main pitch, it's the curtain-raiser to the Scotland v Italy [World Cup warm-up] game, and I think we are all taking a bit of a step in the dark here," said Smith, who guided his youthful squad to an unexpected triumph last winter with a doughty mixture of pragmatism and panache.

"To be honest, there's nothing really riding on the Charity Shield, so it should be a great chance for both sides to go out and express themselves and provide some entertaining rugby. The real business commences for us the following Saturday [September 5], when we take on Currie and we always seem to have close contests against them. But winning becomes a habit, and we've had a good pre-season. So we want to carry that confidence into the Boroughmuir match: they won the Scottish Cup at Murrayfield in the spring, so they clearly know all about turning it on at the national stadium. We have to be prepared for that."

Smith isn't one of life's pouting prima donnas, nor does he make a habit of resorting to Churchillian rhetoric unless you're talking about the nodding dog in the TV adverts. In recent grassroots campaigns, much of the focus has revolved around gritty Borders characters in the mould of Craig Chalmers, John Dalziel and George Graham. Yet, regardless of his amiable attitude, Smith has orchestrated a terrific transformation in the fortunes of the Heriots contingent, who used to be dismissed as fancy dans who went skiing when the going got tough. Not any more they don't, and their coach has been influential in helping them turn potential into prizes.

"I'm trying to speak less to the lads, because we have a core group who know what I want and I trust them to continue their progress in the months ahead," said Smith. "If they can work it out for themselves as to the best way to both express themselves and keep learning from their mistakes, I definitely don't want to curb them.

"I was proud of the way they responded to the challenge in the Premiership last time and perhaps they didn't gain enough credit. After all, they scored more than 500 points, which was a testament to the attacking brand of rugby they produced and when you add that to their defensive efforts, it was a very strong combination. We have a few new faces in the ranks this year, but the spine of the title team is still intact and that is reassuring.

"I suppose other clubs will be gunning for us and aiming to knock us off our perch, but we are ready for that. In one sense, we don't have so much to prove, because we are the champions. But in another, we are determined to defend the integrity of what we achieved and there is a genuine resolve among the boys not to rest on their laurels. That's one of the reasons why I admire a club such as Melrose, because, year in, year out, they are consistently in the mix and vying for honours. It's a credit to them and I want Heriots to earn something of the same reputation in Scotland."

It's always difficult to assess the quality of the contenders, prior to the action getting underway on the domestic circuit. Heriots broke the stranglehold of a sustained spell of domination from Melrose and Ayr, but Smith expects both these clubs to mount a serious counter-offensive in 2015-16. And, as for the rest, he recognises there are few, if any, easy fixtures in this competition.

"You're virtually playing 18 matches on the bounce, so any number of factors can come into the equation," said Smith. "I reckon Glasgow Hawks could be the dark horses this season; they beat us home and away last time, and if they find greater consistency against other clubs, they are going to be dangerous. But we have to concentrate on what we can control and remember the qualities which won us the Premiership."

First, though, there is this Charity Shield to negotiate. It seems strange, to put it mildly, that it couldn't have been arranged prior to the league's commencement. But Smith and his new model army will keep their focus.